# How fucking pathetic are people going to get on this planet? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 3, 2009, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fucking-pathetic-are-people-going-to-get-on-this-planet/479735 "2009-01-03T20:53:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![muttrox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a8b319/32.png) [@muttrox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muttrox)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2009, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fucking-pathetic-are-people-going-to-get-on-this-planet/479735/81 "2009-01-07T16:27:54Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > _“I was trying to get this for my mother. Now what am I suppose to do? Placing a bid at the very last moment is a sneaky rat thing to do and I hope you have a lousy new year”_ Is there any reason to be sure they are being honest? Maybe they’re scamming you to get the item for cheaper. I’ll bet this would be a good technique to get discounts. ---
**Author:** ![BlinkingDuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eada6e/32.png) [@BlinkingDuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlinkingDuck)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2009, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fucking-pathetic-are-people-going-to-get-on-this-planet/479735/82 "2009-01-07T17:31:42Z")
You sniped away his/hers mother’s Christmas present??!? Wow…you really are a wart on the asshole of society! ---
**Author:** ![BlinkingDuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eada6e/32.png) [@BlinkingDuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlinkingDuck)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2009, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fucking-pathetic-are-people-going-to-get-on-this-planet/479735/83 "2009-01-07T17:38:27Z")
> [@Priceguy](#): > > Why would you need sniping software for this? I haven’t used eBay in ages, but surely they still have the “maximum bid” function? I used to buy some stuff on Ebay…mostly nostaligic stuff I had as a kid. I noticed that if I entered a true maximum bid…then I would usually win very near that price. I started to get suspicious that the seller was somehow finding out the info and raising the price to right below it so he/she would get the highest possible price from me. Therefore, I stopped using that feature. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2009, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fucking-pathetic-are-people-going-to-get-on-this-planet/479735/84 "2009-01-07T20:16:30Z")
> [@BlinkingDuck](#): > > I noticed that if I entered a true maximum bid…then I would usually win very near that price. I started to get suspicious that the seller was somehow finding out the info and raising the price to right below it so he/she would get the highest possible price from me. Therefore, I stopped using that feature. I never had any luck doing that either. A few years ago I came up with a method to determine someone’s maximum bid, I forget what it was, but it was something like bidding above the high bidder in 10 cent increments until your bid wasn’t turned down, but I was still able to back out. Not sure if you can still do that, but maybe that’s what someone is doing to you. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fucking-pathetic-are-people-going-to-get-on-this-planet/479735/85 "2009-01-08T06:43:58Z")
> [@muttrox](#): > > Is there any reason to be sure they are being honest? Maybe they’re scamming you to get the item for cheaper. I’ll bet this would be a good technique to get discounts. Why would that work? I’m not the seller, I bought the item, and I’m not selling it to anyone else. Fuck him and his mother. ---
**Author:** ![BlinkingDuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eada6e/32.png) [@BlinkingDuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlinkingDuck)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fucking-pathetic-are-people-going-to-get-on-this-planet/479735/86 "2009-01-08T14:48:40Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > I never had any luck doing that either. > > A few years ago I came up with a method to determine someone’s maximum bid, I forget what it was, but it was something like bidding above the high bidder in 10 cent increments until your bid wasn’t turned down, but I was still able to back out. Not sure if you can still do that, but maybe that’s what someone is doing to you. Probably… I think I tried this and found another way…start with aweird bid, like $xx.84…and raise in $1 increments until the allowed bid was less than $1 above or something like that (this was long ago and memory is fuzzy). I was (and am) convinced that sellers could find my max bid because of the bidding behavior of items I won versus items I lost. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fucking-pathetic-are-people-going-to-get-on-this-planet/479735/87 "2009-01-08T14:55:36Z")
> [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > Other than being mentally deranged I see no reason for this email two weeks later. Better watch out with that person. They haven’t tracked you down yet, so be sure to not reply. If I had to take seriously every moron who threatened me, I’d have to live in a castle with a moat. Out of curiousity, why would anyone bid on an item at any other time than right before the auction closes? I suggest the OP craft his letter as such: Dear Loser, Don’t worry. Your mother and I will be enjoying our new [item] shortly. Please don’t come up out of her basement if you happen to hear any “happy noises” from upstairs. By the way, I’m your real father. Warmest retards, pkbites ---
**Author:** ![Robin\_Goodfellow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Robin\_Goodfellow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robin_Goodfellow)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fucking-pathetic-are-people-going-to-get-on-this-planet/479735/88 "2009-01-08T23:22:11Z")
> [@EJsGirl](#): > > Ha! What kind of pussy has two windows open? Refresh, refresh, refresh, baby, then GRAB IT!!! > > 😃 AMATEURS. What kind of spoiled whippersnappers mash Refresh?! I just open the bid page a few days early and then start _counting_. 😛 I’m pro-sniping, not that I’m actually all that good at it. It’s exactly like having an auction that takes 10 days, but instead of getting all the maximum bids slowly, they zip in in the same minute or two. Still, the highest bidder wins it, and no one has to pay more than anyone else was going to. If you’re _not_ sniping, however, your best chance will come if you set a maximum bid that’s a good ~15% more than the displayed bid, because snipers will aim based on that. The instant rebid can usually handle it unless it’s someone who just wants it more. Also, to the OP - There are lots of funny things to say to Mr. Internet Butthurt, but if you want to take the (possibly) high road and consider their internet detectivism to be harassment, then this page may help you: > [@http://pages.ebay.com/help/buy/formats.html](#): > > In all types of listings, including Classified Ads, sellers must treat the buyer’s contact information in full compliance with eBay’s Privacy Policy. This policy prohibits sharing the buyer’s information with third parties as well as use of the buyer’s information for any purpose other than communicating with the buyer about the item, unless expressly allowed to do so by the buyer. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fucking-pathetic-are-people-going-to-get-on-this-planet/479735.md?page=4)